Job market looks good for college grads
By Tim Barker
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/03/2007
To understand the strength of the labor market facing this year's crop of graduating college students, just scroll through the advertisements posted on university job boards.At any given time, the site run by the placement office at Southern Illinois University's Edwardsville campus has more than 650.
"Prior to this year, we would have been happy with 300," said Jean Paterson, the office's director.
It's a good time to be among the thousands of area college students being set loose into the real world. As always, some degrees will get more attention than others.
But in general, the nation's employers are planning to do a lot of hiring — nearly 20 percent more than last year, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
While there are no figures available for the St. Louis area, placement offices here say on-campus recruitment has been brisk.
"It seems like hiring is pretty good right now," said Mark Smith, director of the career center at Washington University.Many of the degrees with the highest demand — information sciences, computer science and marketing, for example — go hand-in-hand with the region's growth.
Professional and business services, which includes a variety of white-collar professions are among the top jobs-producing sectors locally.There probably isn't a single field of study that will guarantee a job. But a degree in accounting is the best one to be armed with, according to the colleges and employers association.That's not a surprise to James Castellano, chairman of RubinBrown LLP, a St. Louis accounting firm.
"If someone is interested in business, I can't think of a better start than accounting," said Castellano, whose firm plans to hire as many as 20 graduates this year to cope with turnover and growth of the practice.Top students will choose from a variety of offers. Signing bonuses will be common.
Just ask Washington University senior Andrew Mascarenhas, 21, who accepted an offer late last year from Ernst & Young LLP in St. Louis. It came with a cash bonus.The future accountant isn't offering any specifics. But he says the money has come in handy while decorating his apartment.
"On a college student's budget, a bonus is a significant infusion of cash," Mascarenhas said. "We've been spending it on furniture and that sort of thing."Of course, not everyone wants to be an accountant.
Elvedin Arnautovic, 29, is graduating with a degree in marketing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He's had several interviews, but so far the offers have been in sales — something he'd prefer to avoid. With a full-time job as an interpreter at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the Bosnian native wasn't able to take an internship during his junior year. It's a mistake he wishes he could fix.
"No one asks me about my GPA," Arnautovic said. "They want to know about my experience. What have you done? What can you show us?
"Those internships — while providing valuable experience for the students — are an increasingly important key to hiring top graduates, particularly for companies in the more competitive fields.
Clark Davis, chief administrative officer for Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum Inc. in St. Louis, said his company is looking to hire as many as two dozen workers, half of them college graduates. The company also will add a dozen interns this summer, giving the architectural firm an early look at next year's talent pool.
"There is a competition for talent among design and construction companies that we haven't seen for a long time," said Davis, who serves as a mentor to students through the Regional Business Council's Higher Education Collaboration. "It's pretty fair to say that most of us are in a pretty serious hiring mode.
"There are signs, however, that change could be coming.
John Challenger, a Chicago-based workplace expert with Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., said hiring has been expanding since summer of 2003. But trouble in the residential housing market and other areas may be hard to shake off.
"I do think the economy is slowing," Challenger said. "That will affect the job market for several years."But that's not likely to hurt this year's graduates — many of them have only themselves to blame for not yet finding work.
"There are those that just wait and wait," said Paterson of Southern Illinois University.For proof of this, look again to the placement office's job board. Traditionally, the busiest day of the year for traffic is the day after graduation.
"That's when Mom and Dad start asking what they're going to be doing next," Paterson said.
tbarker@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8350
ompanies plan to grab 20 percent more college graduates this year than last.
Here's a look at which bachelor's degrees are in the highest demand:
1. Accounting
2. Business administration/management
3. Computer science
4. Electrical engineering
5. Mechanical engineering
6. Information sciences and systems
7. Marketing/marketing management
8. Computer engineering
9. Civil engineering
10. Economics/finance
Source: Job Outlook 2007, National Association of Colleges and Employers
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/03/2007
To understand the strength of the labor market facing this year's crop of graduating college students, just scroll through the advertisements posted on university job boards.At any given time, the site run by the placement office at Southern Illinois University's Edwardsville campus has more than 650.
"Prior to this year, we would have been happy with 300," said Jean Paterson, the office's director.
It's a good time to be among the thousands of area college students being set loose into the real world. As always, some degrees will get more attention than others.
But in general, the nation's employers are planning to do a lot of hiring — nearly 20 percent more than last year, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
While there are no figures available for the St. Louis area, placement offices here say on-campus recruitment has been brisk.
"It seems like hiring is pretty good right now," said Mark Smith, director of the career center at Washington University.Many of the degrees with the highest demand — information sciences, computer science and marketing, for example — go hand-in-hand with the region's growth.
Professional and business services, which includes a variety of white-collar professions are among the top jobs-producing sectors locally.There probably isn't a single field of study that will guarantee a job. But a degree in accounting is the best one to be armed with, according to the colleges and employers association.That's not a surprise to James Castellano, chairman of RubinBrown LLP, a St. Louis accounting firm.
"If someone is interested in business, I can't think of a better start than accounting," said Castellano, whose firm plans to hire as many as 20 graduates this year to cope with turnover and growth of the practice.Top students will choose from a variety of offers. Signing bonuses will be common.
Just ask Washington University senior Andrew Mascarenhas, 21, who accepted an offer late last year from Ernst & Young LLP in St. Louis. It came with a cash bonus.The future accountant isn't offering any specifics. But he says the money has come in handy while decorating his apartment.
"On a college student's budget, a bonus is a significant infusion of cash," Mascarenhas said. "We've been spending it on furniture and that sort of thing."Of course, not everyone wants to be an accountant.
Elvedin Arnautovic, 29, is graduating with a degree in marketing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He's had several interviews, but so far the offers have been in sales — something he'd prefer to avoid. With a full-time job as an interpreter at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the Bosnian native wasn't able to take an internship during his junior year. It's a mistake he wishes he could fix.
"No one asks me about my GPA," Arnautovic said. "They want to know about my experience. What have you done? What can you show us?
"Those internships — while providing valuable experience for the students — are an increasingly important key to hiring top graduates, particularly for companies in the more competitive fields.
Clark Davis, chief administrative officer for Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum Inc. in St. Louis, said his company is looking to hire as many as two dozen workers, half of them college graduates. The company also will add a dozen interns this summer, giving the architectural firm an early look at next year's talent pool.
"There is a competition for talent among design and construction companies that we haven't seen for a long time," said Davis, who serves as a mentor to students through the Regional Business Council's Higher Education Collaboration. "It's pretty fair to say that most of us are in a pretty serious hiring mode.
"There are signs, however, that change could be coming.
John Challenger, a Chicago-based workplace expert with Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., said hiring has been expanding since summer of 2003. But trouble in the residential housing market and other areas may be hard to shake off.
"I do think the economy is slowing," Challenger said. "That will affect the job market for several years."But that's not likely to hurt this year's graduates — many of them have only themselves to blame for not yet finding work.
"There are those that just wait and wait," said Paterson of Southern Illinois University.For proof of this, look again to the placement office's job board. Traditionally, the busiest day of the year for traffic is the day after graduation.
"That's when Mom and Dad start asking what they're going to be doing next," Paterson said.
tbarker@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8350
ompanies plan to grab 20 percent more college graduates this year than last.
Here's a look at which bachelor's degrees are in the highest demand:
1. Accounting
2. Business administration/management
3. Computer science
4. Electrical engineering
5. Mechanical engineering
6. Information sciences and systems
7. Marketing/marketing management
8. Computer engineering
9. Civil engineering
10. Economics/finance
Source: Job Outlook 2007, National Association of Colleges and Employers
Labels: college grads, Job Market, jobs
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